August 8th, 2024
Langlois assists Crisis24 with U.S. market expansion and acquisition of OnSolve Group
This transaction was spearheaded by a team from our Mergers & Acquisitions group
Simon Chénard
, MBA Partner
Key practice areas
Corporate and Commercial Law, Commercial Agreements, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Real Estate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions
Simon Chénard is a member of the firm's Corporate and Commercial Law group. He advises local and international businesses of all sizes in a variety of industries on their business and legal issues. His cases primarily involve transactions, such as in connection with business purchases or sales (mergers and acquisitions), start-ups, opening a subsidiary in Canada, real estate transactions, financing arrangements or drafting and negotiating various contracts. He is also the business partner of a host of corporate counsel, who regularly engage him for a broad range of ad hoc requests.
A versatile lawyer with strong business acumen, Simon is highly prized by clients for his exceptional accessibility, plainspoken advice and creativity when complex situations arise. He leverages his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in providing clients with informed and judicious business advice.
A very active supporter of start-ups, Simon is a key catalyst of the L-inc. Project, which makes affordable legal services accessible to fast-growing new businesses. His role includes supporting these companies with legal and business advice through every stage of their life cycle, spanning incorporation to business transfer.
Simon also coordinates the Lexmed program with a team that provides services tailored to the business needs of health-care professionals.
In addition, he also serves on the board of Réseau Accès Crédit, a non-profit organization whose mission is to grant loans of less than $20,000 to entrepreneurs with limited access to the financing required to start or grow their entrepreneurial project.
Simon practices at the Montréal office and serves clients in the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspé regions through his frequent presence in Rimouski.
As part of his practice, Simon has:
- carried out a wide variety of transactions to acquire shares and assets of environmental management businesses;
- assisted Solina Group, a leading European manufacturer of ingredient blends and seasonings for the agri-food industry, in acquiring all the issued and outstanding shares of Berthelet Food Products Inc. (Québec) and W. T. Lynch Foods Limited (Ontario);
- advised NeuroServo Inc., a start-up that developed a medical device allowing instant analysis of prefrontal brain waves, as part of a $2.2 million financing round led jointly by Capital régional and coopératif Desjardins and Investissement Québec;
- assisted a major Québec public company in negotiating supply contracts for spare parts and other consumables for all their facilities in Canada and the U.S., representing tens of millions of dollars in spending each year;
- assisted a food franchisor with various real estate transactions and franchisee relations matters;
- assisted a host of medical clinics in determining the legal structure best suited to their needs and drafted the various contracts accordingly, including cost-sharing agreements, partnership contracts, leases and employment contracts;
- advised early-stage businesses on launching the business, determining and implementing an appropriate legal structure, and drafting and negotiating a variety of contracts;
- represented and advised the syndicate of U.S. lenders that financed the C$2.1 billion acquisition of an industrial portfolio of 187 properties in Québec;
- provided revision services to foreign businesses operating in Canada to adapt their contractual documents to Québec and Canadian legal frameworks and business practices.
- Dean’s Honour Roll – Recognition awarded to the ten students in the Université de Sherbrooke's Faculty of law with the best academic average at the end of the third year of their undergraduate law studies, 2013
- Fournier Demers Bureau Borduas Scholarship – Scholarship awarded to students of the Université de Sherbrooke’s Faculty of law for academic excellence in corporate or civil law, 2012
- American Bar Association, Member, since 2019
- Réseau Accès Crédit, Director, since 2018
- Ultimate Rimouski, President, 2018-2021
- Caisse Desjardins du Nord de Sherbrooke, Young Intern Officer of the Board of Directors, 2011-2013
- Association d'Ultimate de Sherbrooke, Director, 2008-2012
- Co-author: “Municipalities’ pre-emptive rights”, January 26, 2023.
- Co-author: “Exemption from registration fees in Québec’s Enterprise Register for Ontario legal persons”, September 23, 2022.
- Author: “Exclusion of international publicity contests from the jurisdiction of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux”, April 13, 2022.
- Co-author: “Developments regarding Hydro-Québec’s upcoming calls for tenders to supply 780 MW of renewable energy”, July 15, 2021.
- Co-author: “Businesses must now disclose who are their true owners”, April 8, 2021.
- Co-author: “Proactivity and creativity in mergers and acquisitions during COVID-19: 5 key issues”, April 15, 2020.
- Co-author: “Corporations: important new measures for disclosure of shareholder information”, April 9, 2020.
- Co-author: “The Meubles Léon decision – Advertising credit: merchants, beware!”, March 3, 2020.
- Co-author: “The Québec Government Launches a Public Consultation on Corporate Transparency”, October 8, 2019.
- Author: “Health Canada Announces Changes to the Cannabis Licensing Process”, May 9, 2019.
- Co-author: “Commercialization of Legalized Cannabis: A Synopsis”, November 12, 2018.
- Co-author: “Commercialization of Cannabis”, October 17, 2018.
- Author: “A Parliamentary Committee Makes Recommendations Regarding Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation”, February 23, 2018.
- Co-author: “OSC Decision in Token Funder Inc. Initial Coin Offering: Is Canada Finally Becoming an ICO-Friendly Jurisdiction?”, October 26, 2017.
- Author: “Organizing Publicity Contests in Quebec”, July 11, 2017.
- Author: “Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation Will Have a Lot More Teeth as of July 1, 2017”, June 6, 2017.
- Co-author: “Buyer Beware”, Canadian Lawyer InHouse, February 27, 2017.
- Co-author: “Short-Term Rentals of Condominiums”, January 20, 2017.
- Co-author: “La location à court terme en copropriété divise” [Short-term rentals of condominiums], Copropriété Plus magazine, January 5, 2017.
- Quoted: “Jugement en Saskatchewan : un simple émoji lui coûte 82 000 $” [Ruling in Saskatchewan: a simple emoji costs him $82,000], La Presse, article by William Thériault, July 9, 2023.
LL.B., Université de Sherbrooke, 2013
MBA, Université de Sherbrooke, 2013